Patrick Sheltra Matches Career Best Speedway Qualifying Effort At Daytona

Topics:  Patrick Sheltra, Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200

Chris Knight
Sheltra Motorsports
February 5, 2010

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (February 5, 2010) - - ARCA Racing Series veteran driver Patrick Sheltra had to wait nearly two and a half hours after going out 15th Friday morning to determine his starting position for tomorrow’s Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona. When the 52nd car driven by Lance Fenton crossed the start-finish line, Sheltra had officially locked himself into the 11th place starting position, tying a career best for the Indiantown, Florida native on a superspeedway.

Last April, Sheltra in the same machine qualified 11th at Talladega (Ala.) Speedway. Friday’s effort though beats his previous best qualifying run at the 2.5-mile superspeedway by five positions from last February.

Sheltra’s lap of 50.059 seconds at 179.788 miles per hour awarded the 23-year old rising star with his third career start at the “World Center of Racing.”

“I pointed out yesterday that our car was going to qualify somewhere between eighth and 12th and we were right on,” Sheltra said. “Our PowerTrac Machinery Dodge Charger is a fast one. I am very confident of the performance we will have in the draft tomorrow afternoon which should make us a factor for the win.”

He added, “I just want to thank everyone including my crew chief Jon (Wolfe) and the entire Sheltra Motorsports team and our marketing partners for their support. I’m really looking forward to the race.”

Sheltra garnished additional attention for his qualifications lap as it was the exact time and speed of IZOD IndyCar Series driver Danica Patrick who will make her first start in a stock-car alongside Sheltra’s No. 60 PowerTrac Machinery Dodge Charger tomorrow in the 12th position.

“I think she (Danica) has a pretty good car,” said Sheltra. “She just needs to play it smart, bide her time and pay attention. I know she is going to have a car that drafts real good, I just hope she respects the drafting and “bump drafting” for what it is and uses it right. Maybe she’ll even help us win this thing tomorrow,” he added smiling.

American Concrete, Buffalo Wings & Rings, BuckedUpApparel.com, CAM 2 Blue Blood Racing Oil, Ferguson Pipe Enterprises, Indiantown Marina and Pardo Trucking join the team as associate marketing partners in tomorrow’s season-opener.

Entering Daytona, Sheltra has 67 ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards starts to his credit with one career victory at Salem Speedway (April 2009). During his ARCA tenure, Sheltra has accumulated 10 top-fives and posted 22 top-10 finishes. A third place qualifying effort at Rockingham Speedway (April 2009) is Sheltra’s best time trials efforts to date. He has controlled the ARCA field five times for 109 laps.

The Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona (80 laps / 200 miles) is the first of 20 events on the 2010 ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards schedule. The 47th ARCA race held at Daytona is a three-day show. A fifty minute final practice session is etched in on Friday evening from 5:40pm-6:30 p.m. The event will take the green flag on Saturday, February 6 shortly after 4:30 p.m. The race will be televised live on SPEED with additional race coverage including live timing and scoring and radio broadcast through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com. All times are local.

Stay tuned for a revamped web site and several social networking opportunities to connect with Patrick Sheltra and the Sheltra Motorsports team but in the mean time for the latest and marketing partnership opportunities please visit PatrickSheltra.com.

About Sheltra Motorsports:

Sheltra Motorsports (sheltramotorsports.com) is a three-tier Motorsports operation consisting of dirt and asphalt competition. Patrick Sheltra, a 23-year old native of Indiantown, Florida competes in the UMP and WoO (Dirt) Series; while also running a full schedule in the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards (No. 60) and a limited schedule in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Sheltra Motorsports ownership is combined of Richard, Grace and Patrick Sheltra. The team is headquartered in Indiantown, Florida with additional operations in Richmond, Indiana and Mooresville, North Carolina.

TEAM COMMUNICATIONS CONTACT:
NAME: Chris Knight, Sheltra Motorsports
PHONE: 239.834.9797 or 239.214.1083
EMAIL: chris@patricksheltra.com